THE GIBSON REPORT – 04-01-19 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

THE GIBSON REPORT – 04-01-19 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

 

TOP UPDATES

 

NYS Budget Passes

Documented NY:

  • 2020 Census outreach: Lawmakers in Albany agreed to a $175.5 billion budget deal on Sunday. It includes $20 million for census outreach — only half the amount advocates requested.
  • Liberty Defense Project: There were concerns late last week that the program, which provides legal counsel and other services for immigrants, would be cut. However, Alphonso David, the governor’s counsel, told reporters it would continue. The program received $10 million last year.
  • Misdemeanors: Among other criminal justice reforms, the budget will reduce the maximum sentence for Class A (the most serious) misdemeanors down to 364 days, which means they will no longer automatically trigger deportation proceedings.
  • NYS DREAM Act: After the DREAM Act passed the legislature earlier this year, it was implemented and fully funded in this budget. It provides undocumented students with access to state financial aid.

See also Immigration attorneys fighting deportation cases to get additional $1.6 million in emergency funding.

 

Border Patrol orders quick release of migrant families

AP: The number of migrant families and children entering the U.S. from Mexico is so high that Border Patrol is immediately releasing them instead of transferring them to the agency responsible for their release, forcing local governments to help coordinate their housing, meals and travel. See also Border Patrol facilities on southern border are nearly 3,000 people over capacity.

 

Trump plans to cut U.S. aid to 3 Central American countries in fight over U.S.-bound migrants

WaPo: The State Department said in a statement Saturday that it would be “ending . . . foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle” — a region encompassing El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The move would affect nearly $500 million in 2018 funds and millions more left over from the prior fiscal year. See also Fox News host apologizes for ‘3 Mexican Countries’ chyron: ‘It never should have happened’.

 

Trump Doubles Down on Threat to Close Border

USNews: White house advisers are reaffirming that President Donald Trump will close all or parts of the U.S. border with Mexico this week if Mexico’s government doesn’t move aggressively to stop undocumented migrants from crossing into the United States. See also House fails to override Trump veto on southern border emergency.

 

DHS to ask Congress for sweeping authority to deport unaccompanied migrant children

NBC: Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s proposal will also include more money for detention beds and the ability to hold families in detention longer than currently permitted.

 

ICE arrests drop as the agency shifts toward the surge of migrants at the southern border

CNN: US immigration arrests are down compared with last year, as illegal migrant crossings spike at the southern border and Immigration and Customs Enforcement has had to shift resources to the deal with the influx.

 

Immigrants Are Regularly Kept Locked up for Months After Deportation Orders

AIC: More than 1,000 immigrants were still locked up more than 6 months after they received their final removal orders.

 

The Pentagon Is Transferring $1 Billion to Trump’s Border Wall at the Expense of Military Readiness

AIC: Projects like the border wall should not come at the expense of military readiness. They only weaken our security and distract from the real humanitarian concerns at the border.

 

The Latest Immigration Crackdown May Be Fake Social Security Numbers

NPR: The agency is reviving the controversial practice of sending “no match” letters to businesses across the country, notifying them when an employee’s Social Security number doesn’t match up with official records.

 

The Immigration Court: Issues and Solutions

Chase: While many of the arguments for Article I status involved hypothetical threats in the 1990s, over the past two years, many of the fears that gave rise to such proposal have become reality.

 

ICE detains more pregnant women. Immigration advocates say it puts moms and babies at risk

Commercial Appeal: Puerto Diaz was one of more than 2,500 pregnant women detained by the agency in the past three years, according to ICE. That number has steadily risen since immigration policy changes were implemented by President Donald Trump in 2017.

 

Police: Con Artist Victimized Immigrants

Patch: Cops allege he extracted more than $300,000 from 40 families with false promises to get them legal immigration status.

 

“It’s Hell There”: This Is What It’s Like For Immigrants Being Held In A Pen Underneath An El Paso Bridge

BuzzFeed: US immigration officials are holding hundreds of people in a temporary outdoor detention camp under a Texas bridge, where migrants are surrounded by fencing and sleeping on dirt.

 

In Ciudad Juárez, Cuban migrants seek asylum in the U.S.

NBC: During the 2016 fiscal year, judges made decisions in 59 asylum cases filed by Cubans. In 2017, that number jumped to 245, according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, database. Last year, 455 Cuban asylum cases were decided — with about six in 10 resulting in denials.

 

ICE Trained Over 1,500 State And Local Police On How To Help Detain Immigrants

Newsweek: Addressing a crowded room at the 2019 Border Security Expo in San Antonio, Texas, ICE Acting Director Ronald Vitiello said ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) team, which oversees the arrests and deportations of immigrants, has so far signed agreements with 78 law enforcement agencies in 20 states to “train and empower” state and local officers “to enforce federal immigration laws.”

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

BIA Reopens and Terminates Proceedings Sua Sponte in Light of Second Circuit Decision

Unpublished BIA decision reopens and terminates proceedings sua sponte upon finding respondent with controlled substance convictions no longer deportable under intervening decision in Harbin v. Sessions, 860 F.3d 58 (2nd Cir. 2017). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Abreu, 5/21/18). AILA Doc. No. 19032696

BIA Reopens Proceedings for U Visa Applicant to Seek Waiver of Inadmissibility

Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings for U visa applicant to seek waiver of inadmissibility in light of intervening decision in Baez-Sanchez v. Sessions, 872 F.3d 854 (7th Cir. 2017). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Moreno-Zaldivar, 5/15/18) AILA Doc. No. 19032595

 

BIA Orders Further Consideration of Continuance for Detained Respondent Seeking U Visa

Unpublished BIA decision remands for further consideration of request for continuance pending adjudication of U visa application, stating that backlog and respondent being detained are not valid reasons to deny continuance. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Alvarado-Turcio, 5/22/18) AILA Doc. No. 19032796

 

BIA Grants Adjustment Application for Respondent with Multiple Arrests for Domestic Violence

Unpublished BIA decision reverses discretionary denial of adjustment for applicant with two arrests for domestic violence because neither resulted in conviction and he otherwise possessed significant equities. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ramirez-Ortega, 5/21/18) AILA Doc. No. 19032795

 

BIA Summarily Dismisses DHS Appeal for Failure to File Brief

Unpublished BIA decision summarily dismisses DHS appeal because notice to appeal didn’t meaningfully apprise BIA of grounds for appeal and DHS didn’t submit a separate brief in support of appeal despite indicating it would. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Moreira-Quintanilla, 5/17/18) AILA Doc. No. 19032596

 

BIA Upholds Finding that Respondent Acquired Citizenship

Unpublished BIA decision upholds finding that respondent acquired citizenship under INA §309(a) because father acknowledged paternity before she turned 18 by listing her as his daughter in affidavit of support. (Matter of Feliz-Valles, 5/17/18) AILA Doc. No. 19032695

 

CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Kenyan Petitioner Who Alleged Changed Country Conditions

The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in finding that country conditions in Kenya—climbing land prices, anti-LGBT discrimination, and al-Shabaab violence—were continuing, not changed, since the petitioner’s removal proceedings in 2013. (Wanjiku v. Barr, 3/15/19) AILA Doc. No. 19032902

 

CA4 Says BIA Applied Wrong Standard of Review in Evaluating Physical Custody Requirement Under the CCA

The court granted the petition for review and remanded, holding that whether a foreign-born child was in the “physical custody” of his or her U.S. citizen parent for purposes of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) is a mixed question of fact and law. (Duncan v. Barr, 3/19/19) AILA Doc. No. 19032904

 

CA4 Reverses Denial of CAT Relief to Salvadoran Who Received Death Threats from Gang

The court granted the petition for review, holding that the BIA had entirely failed to address the petitioner’s testimony that Salvadoran officials had turned a “blind eye” to death threats made by members of the 18th Street gang to petitioner and her son. (Cabrera Vasquez v. Barr, 3/20/19) AILA Doc. No. 19032903

 

CA7 Upholds Denial of CAT Relief Where Salvadoran’s Allegations of Future Torture Were Deemed Too Speculative

The court upheld the denial of relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), finding that petitioner had failed to prove that he would be specifically targeted by gangs or the military in El Salvador or that the government would acquiesce in any torture. (Herrera-Garcia v. Barr, 3/18/19) AILA Doc. No. 19032905

 

CA8 Says “Salvadoran Female Heads of Households” Is Not a Cognizable Particular Social Group

The court held that the BIA did not err in ruling that petitioner had failed to prove past persecution on account of her membership in the social group of “Salvadoran female heads of household,” finding that the group lacked social distinction and particularity. (De Guevara v. Barr, 3/21/19) AILA Doc. No. 19032906

 

CA8 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Feared Persecution in Guatemala Due to His Mam Ethnicity

The court held that the petitioner, who feared persecution on account of his Mam ethnicity from the Zetas criminal organization and others if returned to Guatemala, failed to establish an objective nexus between fear of future persecution and a protected ground. (Martin v. Barr, 3/5/19) AILA Doc. No. 19032570

 

CA9 Reverses Asylum Denial Where BIA Misapplied Firm Resettlement Rule

The court granted in part the petition for review of the BIA’s denial of the Cameroonian petitioner’s asylum claims and remanded, holding that the BIA committed three errors in its application of the firm resettlement rule. (Arrey v. Barr, 2/26/19) AILA Doc. No. 19032571

 

CA9 Says BIA May Consider Sentencing Enhancements When a Petitioner Has Been Convicted of a Per Se Particularly Serious Crime

The court denied the petition for review, holding that the BIA appropriately considered sentencing enhancements when it determined that the petitioner was convicted of a per se particularly serious crime and was therefore ineligible for withholding of removal. (Mairena v. Barr, 3/7/19) AILA Doc. No. 19032573

 

CA9 Orders En Banc Rehearing of Martinez-Cedillo v. Barr

The court ordered that Martinez-Cedillo v. Barr, in which a three-judge panel found that the BIA’s interpretation of a crime of child abuse, neglect, or abandonment was entitled to Chevron deference, be reheard en banc. (Martinez-Cedillo v. Barr, 3/18/19) AILA Doc. No. 19032931

 

CA9 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Mexican Police Officer Who Received Death Threats from Hitmen

The court held that the evidence did not compel the conclusion that the petitioner, a Mexican police officer who had received two death threats from hitmen of the Sinaloa drug cartel, had suffered past harm rising to the level of persecution. (Duran-Rodriguez v. Barr, 3/20/19) AILA Doc. No. 19032930

 

CA11 Finds Noncitizen Who Indicated He Was a U.S. Citizen on Driver’s License Application Is Inadmissible

The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the factual finding that the petitioner, a noncitizen, did not intend to make a false representation of citizenship when he checked the box indicating he was a U.S. citizen on his driver’s license application. (Patel v. Att’y Gen., 3/6/19) AILA Doc. No. 19032574

 

USCIS Posts Update on Extension of DED for Liberia

USCIS posted an alert that it will publish a notice in the Federal Register with information on the six-month automatic extension, through 9/27/19, of EADs currently held by eligible Liberians and instructions on how they can obtain EADs for the reminder of the DED wind-down period. AILA Doc. No. 19032932

 

ICE Releases Death Detainee Report

Congressional requirements described in the 2018 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill require ICE to make public all reports regarding an in-custody death within 90 days. ICE has provided those reports, beginning in FY2018. AILA Doc. No. 18121905

 

CBP Commissioner Issues Comments About Increase in Border Crossings at Southwest Border

CBP Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan hosted a press release to discuss the impact of the increase in border crossings that continue to occur along the southwest border. Nationwide, CBP had more than 12,000 migrants in custody this week. AILA Doc. No. 19032835

 

RESOURCES

 

EVENTS

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, April 1, 2019

Sunday, March 31, 2019

Saturday, March 30, 2019

Friday, March 29, 2019

Thursday, March 28, 2019

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Monday, March 25, 2019

***************************************************

Thanks, Elizabeth!

PWS

04-02-19

 

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